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Steam land speed record was set in 1906, and wasn't broken until 2009.

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What about the "Steamin Demon. 145.607 mph in 08/85? That was the record when the Brits ran. I had the XO/BGAlt record from 1980 until 2009 when those Salt Cat guys stomped all over it. It's good that records get bumped. Means people are running in the class. Mine lasted because nobody cared. And NSU had two bikes there. A small one with the 50cc engine and a small rider. And the pictured larger bike with the larger engine and rider.

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A true gentleman driver and a proper man... you had to have balls to take one of those Auto-Union monsters and drive them they way they did... can you imagine trying to tame 600 methanol-fuelled horses on skinny 30's tyre technology on cobbled street circuits? Modern drivers pale in comparison. I always get a sense of true admiration for these fellas.

NSU was at its height in this late pre-war and early post-war years, and records made great headlines... you see a lot of manufacturers after that particular grail in this period. MG, Abarth, Gordini, Nardi... most every manufacturer with sporting credentials had a go at some point at this game of speed records.

I agree that they probably had one or two motorcycles and simply swapped over the engine bits to claim any particular record.

Interesting read but not true. If you want to research records, I would recommend the BNI-SCTA record book. I'm going to stick with my previous post. Don't forget the Brits had plenty of corporate Pounds Sterling invested in that effort. They didn't want to come right out and mention it was slow.

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I'd wager on a mix of the two types, NSU played a lot with both types in motorcycles until the mid-60's when they got heavily into the Wankel engine for building the ultimate modern car (the Ro80), which pretty much sealed their fate.

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This is what I was into in my earlier days, vintage motorcycle racing, German to be exact. It laid the ground work for the traditional hotrod life I lead today, thank you so much for the post. Love those hand beaten dust bin fairings!

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Buddenbaum has an Aprilia engine. I don't know if it's a two stroke or not, but I have been near it when it was running and I don't hate it. So I guess it's a four stroke. Corrected before I hit send. Oh well.

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Great post Ryan! Learning about what the Germans were doing just before the war really changes one's perspective on Hot Rod/racing history- no surprise that Dean Batchelor was obsessed with the Auto Union cars when he was designing streamliners.

That closer shot of the car really emphasizes how damned BIG those things were- with all that engine in the back and 'best guess' handling qualities it really must have been some ride for those guys.

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And for some more long standing Bonneville records how about the E/Blown Fuel Roadster record set in 1979! 260" engine blown on alky @ 245 mph.
The C/Blown Fuel modified roadster record set in 1974 @ 269 mph, The XO/Vintage Altered set in 1979 @ 151, the C/Classic Blown Fuel Altered record @ 239 mph also set in 1979. The F/Bown Classic Gas Coupe record was set in 1974 @ 173 mph.
There are a few more about this old in the book but not many.

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It may be that the majority of guys who might be interested in running in the smaller bike classes don't have the support sources to accomplish the challenge.

On some of the long standing car classes it might mean that there is little interest in the class or it just might mean that no one else has come up with a combination that works the way they expected so it can set a record.
As hundreds find out every year those records don't fall easily for the majority of racers.
A lot of us have spent more than a few hours studying the latest rule book hunting for a class that our engine of choice or body style of choice could fit in and be competitive. Quite often the combo we have at hand won't be competitive unless we have a bottomless wallet to make it work. And even then, sometimes that isn't enough.

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The XO/VAlt record was set by Keith Young in his '39 or '37 Chevy coupe. Fenderless with a stock head 302 GMC. I was running in XX/Alt. We didn't have Vintage classes then. And Fords ran in the same classes as GMCs. Of the records Mike mentioned I think this is the most interesting and do able. Although in '79 Keith was pretty much on top of the GMC game.